Valentine's Day E-Cards Bring Great Expectations

More than a third of Americans will let e-cards serve as Cupid's messenger this Valentine's Day. And most of us will expect something in return, a new survey shows. But somewhat surprisingly, e-card senders were not over the top in their quid pro quo expectations, according to a survey of more than 2,400 U.S. adults commissioned by SOASTA, a cloud and mobile testing company.

While a majority (54 percent) said they expected something in return for sending an e-card to a romantic partner or love interest, more than a third (35 percent) said they would be happy with a simple "thank you."

Only a slim minority expected a major reciprocation that involved either dinner (10 percent) or sex (10 percent).

Married Americans say their spouse is the No. 1 person to whom they plan on sending an e-card (28 percent). That was followed by American adults who said they’d send one to friends (14 percent), parents who would send one to their children (11 percent), American adults who’d send one to their mothers (9 percent), boyfriends/girlfriends (8 percent), fathers (3 percent), grandparents (3 percent), secret crushes (3 percent), employed adults who’d send one to co-workers (3 percent), the attractive receptionist at work (3 percent) and bosses (2 percent).

The popularity of e-cards is pretty easy to understand, the SOASTA survey shows. Nearly three out of four (73 percent) respondents like something about e-cards — the fact that most are free tops

the list of virtues (53 percent). That zero price point is followed closely (43 percent) by the way e-cards can save the day if you forget to buy a physical card in time.

Other attractive features of e-cards include animations (35 percent), being friendly to the environment (34 percent), interactivity (24 percent) and not needing to know the recipient's physical postal address.

Ned was senior writer at Sweeney Vesty, an international consulting firm, and was Vice President of communications for iQuest Analytics. Before that, he has been a web editor and managed the Internet and intranet sites for Citizens Communications. He began his journalism career as a police reporter with the Roanoke (Va.) Times, and was managing editor of American Way magazine and senior editor of Us. He was a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and has a masters in journalism from the University of Arizona.